Transcript of Republican radio address

REP. RON LEWIS, R-KENTUCKY: Hello and merry Christmas. I'm
Ron Lewis, congressman for the Second District of Kentucky.
It's an honor to speak with you during this cherished holiday
season.

Congress and the president have a chance to present America's
children with a great Christmas gift -- a balanced budget.

But let me first speak of an even more pressing issue. Our
men and women in uniform are beginning to arrive in Bosnia.
Our
soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are this country's
finest
examples of bravery and service. They are living President
Kennedy's challenge to "ask not what your country can do for
you,
but what you can do for your country."

Regardless of our feelings about Mr. Clinton's decision to
send troops to Bosnia, we can all keep these men and women in
our thoughts and prayers. And we must remember the families
whose worries about their loved ones won't go away over
Christmas dinner. Their sacrifices should inspire us all.

As our troops head to Bosnia, House and Senate Republicans
are still waiting for a real balanced budget from President
Clinton. That's what we've been working on all year. But
balancing the budget goes far beyond the simple goal of
living
within our means, something most Americans have to do every
day.

With the national debt at $5 trillion and rising, it's a
matter of giving our children a chance at the American dream.
When I was growing up, most parents believed their kids would
have a better standard of living. Today, they aren't sure
that
that's even possible. A child born today will pay nearly
$200,000 in taxes on interest on the debt alone.

If nothing is done, entitlement spending and interest on the
debt will take up the entire federal budget in less than two
decades. There'll be no money for education or roads or
defense
any of the programs that help all of us. That's not only
wrong,
it's un-American. Children don't have a say in the matter,
but
they will be stuck with the debts run up by an out-of-touch
federal government.

Just weeks ago, President Clinton vetoed the Balanced Budget
Act of 1995, the first balanced budget that's crossed any
president's desk in more than a generation. So the work goes
on.

I know many of you are uncertain about ongoing negotiations
between Congress and the White House. But House and Senate
Republicans ask only one thing of the president -- to
negotiate
in good faith on a seven-year balanced budget using
projections
of the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

In his first State of the Union address, President Clinton
endorsed the CBO. He pointed out the CBO had been much more
accurate than White House appointees. And he said we should
use
the same set of numbers so the American people will at least
know what we're arguing about.

But now that we are at the brink of finally stopping the
flood of red ink, President Clinton doesn't want to use the
same
set of numbers. His latest so-called balanced budget is $350
billion in the red. And House Republicans and Democrats
unanimously rejected it earlier this week.

Mr. Clinton has called Republicans extremist and
mean-spirited for trying to slow the rate of growth on
Medicare,
something he thought was a good idea just two years ago for
his
government health care plan. I think the American people are
tired of politicians saying one thing and doing another. The
fact is, the Republican plan to save Medicare would still
increase spending by more than 60 percent over the next seven
years, and Mr. Clinton knows this.

We believe this is an historic struggle, perhaps our last
great chance to stop robbing our children. (85K AIFF sound or 85K WAV sound) We have put forth
our suggestions for balancing the budget, reforming welfare,
saving Medicare, and allowing families to keep more of the
money
that they earn. And we have done it using real numbers, not
the
smoke-and- mirrors that helped get us in this mess in the
first
place. If that's risking our political careers, so be it.
It's
better than risking our children's future.

In the end, it's a matter of accepting a challenge that past
Congresses have refused to face -- caring more about the next
generation than the next election. (102K AIFF sound or 102K WAV sound) House and Senate
Republicans
have accepted this challenge, and during the current
stalemate,
we will continue to negotiate with Mr. Clinton. We hope he
begins to play by the same rules.

I wish all of you a very merry Christmas, a happy holiday
season, and a wonderful New Year. And God bless you.